Stainless or Blue

M

Melvin Eades

New member
Other than being better for resisting the weather, what are the advantages of a stainless barrel verses a blue barrel? Will the stainless not shoot out as fast as the blue? Will the stainless be more accurate? I'm thinking of buying a .204 for praire dogs and also for carrying coyote hunting. I don't want a bull barrel due to weight. I've never had a stainless in a centerfire but I'm thinking strongly about it. I would appreciate your opinions.

Thanks...
 
I love the stainless rifles. I haven't noticed any differnce in shooting performance. The stainless is definetly more durable, but only if you don't take care of your guns. If you do, you won't notice much difference.

Stainless also seems to be a little harder to call with in the bright sunlight, due to glare. You won't see scratches etc... with it like you will in blue or matte blue..

Get one of each and you'll have the right one for every occassion...LOL...
 
Swift, you think like I do. Get one for me and get the other one for my wife. I'll use hers until she's ready to use it. Can't just have it sitting around collecting dust now, can I? Your comment about the swift at the end of your reply, doe you have a .220 swift?
 
I have 4 swifts... They are the best .22 out there. Only problem is with the brass. Even with neck sizing, about 10 reloads is all that I get. I run them hotttt. No reason to have one if you are going to load it down to a 22-250...!!! All of mine shoot under 1/2 and two shoot staples out at 100..
 
The top end custom barrel makers say they can make slightly better barrels in stainless because the stainless blanks they get are slightly more uniform than the chrome moly blanks.

This has nothing to do with factory barrels because they do not use the best quality blanks in either stainless or chrome moly.

It is generally accepted that stainless barrels will last a bit longer if used only for slow fire. If there is much rapid fire involved the chrome moly will last longer.

The stainless used for barrels will most definitely rust or corrode. It is a free-machining stainless which is not very corrosion resistant. It is a little more corrosion resistant than blued chrome moly but not much.

Jack
 
Swift516,
I've shot a swift for 26 years. When I was a kid there was a man that came out to our neighbors hay fields and would shoot groundhogs a long way out there that seemed an unbelievable distance. At that time in my life when a .22 was all that I was allowed to have a 400 yard shot was unreal. I knew then that when I got old enough I was going to have one. Everyone has their own pet caliber and mine is the swift. I've been looking at a Savage in 204 and trying to decide on barrels. I have always been a Remington fan but last year I bought a Savage M12 in 22-250 and really like the accuracy and the trigger.I know what you mean about the brightness when calling. I will take it with me when I go praire dog shooting this spring but will be using it around here the rest of the year. So do I understand that with the factory barrels that the stainless doesn't have that much over a blue barrel for my use?. It's just a matter of what I want the gun to look like?

...and thanks for everyone's input.
 
Melvin,

I haven't noticed any differnce in how they shoot (stainless v. blue). The is a post above that says the stainless may be better in high end barrel blanks. I don't have any custom guns with high end blanks...

I have three in stainless and one in blue. I have a Cooper 22 in swift that has a 24" stainless barrel, a Remington Classic stainless in swift with 24" sporter barrel and a Remington VSSF in swift. My only blued one is a VSF that has a 26" fluted barrel (super accurate, as good as the Cooper).

All of these rifles are great and I swear that they are all my favoite...LOL...
 
Eddie,

"The top end custom barrel makers say they can make slightly better barrels in stainless because the stainless blanks they get are slightly more uniform than the chrome moly blanks."


Just what I was told by Krieger and Obermeyer.

You see any of the Hamrichs lately?

Jack
 
Eddie,

The metallurgy is more uniform with the stainless. I am not sure if they were talking about the alloy varying in a blank or maybe some inclusions. Either one would make the reamer and cutters vary in how they cut.

They both said the difference is small but both thought the stainless was more uniform throughout the blank.

Say hi to Tom next time you see him.

Jack
 
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